The Nugget

Last updated

The Nugget
Nugget01.jpg
Directed by Bill Bennett
Written byBill Bennett
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDanny Ruhlmann
Edited byHenry Dangar
Music by Nigel Westlake
Production
companies
Macquarie Film Corporation
Overseas Film Group
Australian Film Financing Corp
Showtime Australia
b.j. films
Distributed byRoadshow
Release date
  • October 17, 2002 (2002-10-17)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,920,993 (Australia)

The Nugget is a 2002 Australian comedy film about three friends who find the world's largest nugget of gold.

Contents

The film was one of a number financed by the Macquarie Film Corporation. [1] [2]

Storyline

The story concerns a group of three road workers who stumble upon the world's biggest nugget of gold, and become instant millionaires — or so they think. The road workers are mates from way back, and each weekend they go out to an old goldmining site hoping to strike it rich. Each weekend they come back with nothing but a hangover. But then everything changes when they discover the world's biggest nugget — worth many millions of dollars.

Cast

Production

Bill Bennett had long wanted to make a film based on the John Steinbeck story The Pearl but was unable to get the rights. Instead he decided to write a version of it set in Australia about a nugget. Bennett said the wrote it "just to have a bit of a laugh. I didn't think it would get financed. I'd been writing a lot of dark material and had a gap in my schedule so I thought it'd be nice to cleanse myself as it were. " [3]

The film was shot in Mudgee. Eric Bana made it after Black Hawk Down. [4]

Macquarie Film Corporation invested $2,112,800 and received $223,477 causing a write down of $1,817,800. [5]

Reception

Critical

According to Variety the film "comes off as a too-obvious giftwrap of trademarked beer-scarfin’, back-slappin’ Aussie charm for the tourist trade. Wearing “heart” on its sleeve like a sailor’s tattoo, poking at dumb-and-dumber formulae without braving full-blown Farrelly Brothers-type yocks, this slick mediocrity looks to be a mild B.O. performer at home, minor rental fare elsewhere." [6]

Box office

The Nugget grossed $1,920,993 at the box office in Australia. [7]

See also

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References

  1. "Dirty Deeds wound MacBank punters". Australian Financial Review. 29 October 2004.
  2. "The end: lights out on Macquarie's film adventure". Australian Financial Review. 12 October 2006.
  3. "The Nugget". Australian Cinema.
  4. "Eric's far from idle". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 August 2001. p. 13.
  5. Boland, Michaela (12 October 2006). "The end: lights out on Macquarie's film adventure". Australian Financial Review. p. 1.
  6. "The Nugget". Variety. 26 September 2002.
  7. Film Victoria – Australian Films at the Australian Box Office